Step aside, Sonata: Santa Fe passes sedan in sales

A Hyundai Santa Fe is checked for fit and finish after it comes off of the line at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday June 2, 2016.(Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)Buy Photo

Elantras and Sonatas are no longer Hyundai’s two most popular vehicles in North America.

Hyundai Motor America reported Thursday that it sold more Santa Fe CUVs than Sonatas last month while on the road to a company record for August sales.

There’s a good reason for that shift: The Hyundai assembly plant in Montgomery, which is the company’s largest in North America, has spent the past two months building fewer sedans so it can roll out more CUVs. The Santa Fe Sport accounted for 17 percent of all vehicles built in Montgomery in July, and that total rose another 3 percent in August.

There seems to be strong demand for the CUV. People in North America bought 15,176 Santa Fes in August, according to figures released Thursday by HMA. That’s about 300 more than the company’s total Sonata sales for the month.

At 20,733 units sold in August, the Elantra remained king of the hill. For now.

“Strong performances by our family of CUVs led us to our best August ever,” said Derrick Hatami, vice president of national sales for HMA. “It’s a similar story to the past couple of months we see continuing as the summer draws to a close.”

The Elantra and Sonata had topped the company’s North American sales chart for years, often doubling the sales of the third-place vehicle.

But in an SUV-hungry North American market, buyers were flocking away from sedans and pouring money into larger vehicles. That’s why the company spent time and money — $52 million — to give its Montgomery plant the ability to build the Santa Fe Sport. It started rolling off the line here in late June.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama has said it plans to continue to adjust the mix of vehicles it’s building in Montgomery to suit market demand.

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A Hyundai Santa Fe is checked for fit and finish after it comes off of the line at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday June 2, 2016.(Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)